


No Present Like The Time

by tayryn



Category: The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Genre: F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-17 12:41:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3529841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tayryn/pseuds/tayryn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At last.</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Present Like The Time

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LadyDuchess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyDuchess/gifts), [detectivecaz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/detectivecaz/gifts).



> **SPOILER ALERT!**
> 
> If you've not seen the second movie yet... do not read! 
> 
> A little something that hit me on my fifth viewing of the movie.

“This is what the young make us remember. That in the end, it’s all very simple. That all it takes, is to look into someone’s eyes, and say yes… this is what I want; and for them to reply, it’s what I want, too, and there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

~*DE*~

They walked, hand in hand, through the court yard, in a comfortable silence; the joyous revelry of Sonny and Sunaina’s reception reaching them even here.

Douglas was beside himself with happiness, and glanced down at the woman walking beside him, the woman responsible for his current elated state, and felt his heart swell when she looked up at him and smiled. From the moment he’d spoken Evelyn’s words at the reception, he’d felt like he was walking on air.

The feeling had persisted as they’d danced, and continued on through dinner, and even now Douglas felt as if there were no feat he could not accomplish.

As they slowly ascended the stairs leading to her room, Evelyn gave his hand a gentle squeeze. She’d done it. She’d listened to her heart, and had taken a chance.

“Would you like to come inside for coffee?” Evelyn asked, turning back to face him, once he’d opened her doors for her, and stepped back.

“I thought you didn’t have any.”

“I don’t,” she replied softly.

“Oh… I… yes, I would like that.” Douglas nodded.

Evelyn smiled again, and reached out to grab his hand, and pulled him inside her room.

“You checked out of your hotel in Mumbai,” Douglas said quietly, when she released his hand and he watched her move further into the room to turn on the light.

“I did,” Evelyn replied softy, then turned to face him.

“Why?”

“I was scared.”

“Not… not of me?”

“No, not of you.”

“Then what?”

“Of my feelings for you,” Evelyn told him, fingering the edge of her scarf. “I knew you’d show up at my hotel, and… and I needed time to think. That’s why I checked out.”

“I understand.”

“Do you really?”

“Yes.” Douglas nodded, and as he held her gaze, Evelyn saw that he did indeed understand.

“I wanted to tell you, to ask you, to give me just a little more time; that I would get there.”

“I would have done.”

“I know.”

“What changed your mind?”

“A comment Hari made,” she replied. “It’s what prompted me to go to Laura’s conference to find you. But you’d already gone.”

“I came home hoping to find you,” Douglas said.

“That’s what Laura told me.”

“You spoke with her?”

“Her and Jean,” Evelyn told him with a nod.

“What… what did they say?”

“Well, first Jean asked me why we hadn’t slept together; she wondered if perhaps I didn’t fancy you, which for the record, I do. Quite a lot actually,” Evelyn finished, well aware that a blush was creeping up her cheeks.

“That’s a relief,” Douglas remarked, the corner of his mouth quirking up, his eyes twinkling.

Evelyn smiled, and felt her blush deepen, along with the oh so familiar fluttering low in her belly that always seemed to be present when she was with Douglas. “But it was something Jean said that really gave me the push I needed.”

“Really?”

“Yes. She said that she was not someone for whom good things happen; that the happy things don’t just fall into her lap, and that she had to work for them,” Evelyn said. “It was then that I realized I was one of those lucky ones. I’d been given a second chance at a new life, with a wonderful man, and I was being foolish for keeping him - keeping you - at arms’ length.”

“I don’t think you were being foolish,” Douglas told her. “You were being cautious, that’s all.”

Evelyn shook her head. “I was scared, Douglas,” she replied quietly. “Scared because my feelings for you happened so fast, and have only grown stronger these last few months. That’s why I wanted to ask you to give me more time. I was afraid of my feelings,” she whispered the last sentence, then gave him a tender smile, “but not anymore.”

“Are you sure?”

“I would have thought my words at the reception would have told you that,” Evelyn told him, as she slowly closed the distance between them, stopping within arms’ reach. “This is what I want…”

Douglas smiled. “It’s what I want, too.”

“And there’s nothing to be afraid of,” they whispered together.

“So, we’re really going to do this?”

“Yes,” Evelyn nodded.

“Evelyn… can I, that is… may I kiss you?” Douglas stammered, his cheeks flushing.

Evelyn gave him a shy smile, and placed her hand on his chest, as she stepped closer. “Yes, Douglas. I would like that very much.”

“Right… I… thank…” Her finger against his lips stopped him.

“Douglas.” Evelyn slid her hand around to cup the back of his head. “Just kiss me,” she whispered, and drew his mouth down to hers.

His lips were soft against hers, quivering only slightly as he brushed them gently over hers.

“Douglas…” Evelyn murmured, and lightly ran her tongue over his lips. “Kiss me,” she told him again, then parted her lips beneath his in silent invitation.

Evelyn moaned softly when Douglas finally, tentatively, slipped his tongue into her mouth to stroke hers. Her fingers curled into his shirt, and she smiled into the kiss when his hands dropped to her waist, pulling her closer; she pressed her body against his.

Several heartbeats later, the kiss slowly tapered off, and Evelyn hummed happily when Douglas pressed his lips to her forehead, murmuring her name.

“I have wanted to do that for so long,” he told her in a raspy voice.

“So have I,” she admitted breathlessly.

Douglas lifted his right hand from her waist, and stroked his fingers lightly down her cheek. “I love you, Evelyn.”

Evelyn grasped his wrist, and traced her fingers over his bent fingers before carefully uncurling them. She kissed his palm, then placed his hand against the side of her face, smiling when his thumb stroked her cheek. “I love you, too, Douglas.”

The smile that spread across his face, and the love filling his blue eyes, made her heart skip. In that moment, Evelyn knew that listening to her heart, instead of her head, had been the right choice.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” she asked him, her voice just above a whisper.

“You want me to…”

“Stay with me, yes. I would like you to hold me,” Evelyn told him, then covered his hand, which still cradled her cheek. “I do want to make love with you, Douglas. Very much. But at my age, even though the desire is there, we’ll need a little help, and I…”

Douglas stilled her lips with his thumb. “I understand,” he replied with a tender smile. “When the time is right, for both of us, we’ll get what we need… together.”

Evelyn kissed the pad of his thumb. “Thank you.”

“As for tonight, I would be honoured to stay with you, and hold you in my arms as we sleep.”

Evelyn smiled, then placed her hands on his shoulders as she pushed up on her toes, and brushed her lips against his. She moaned softly when he wrapped his arms around her waist to draw her body more firmly against his, and deepened the kiss.

When they parted several moments later, both were panting softly.

“I should go change,” Evelyn said, slightly breathless. “Do you need anything from your room?”

“No,” Douglas answered. “I’ll sleep in my underwear and undershirt, if that’s all right with you?”

“It’s perfectly all right with me.” Evelyn nodded, and gave him another quick kiss, then extracted herself from his embrace. “I shan’t be long.”

“Okay…” Douglas said, as he watched her disappear into her bathroom, then released the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. With slightly shaking hands, he unbuttoned and removed his jacket and dress shirt, and draped them over the arm of the loveseat, before sitting down to take off his shoes and socks.

He’d just finished when the bathroom door opened, and quickly got to his feet just as Evelyn stepped out wearing a simple cotton nightgown. He smiled to see her wringing her hands nervously in front of her, as she slowly walked across the room to stand before him.

Douglas took her hands in his, stilling them. “If you’re not ready for this…”

“I am ready. I’m just a little nervous,” Evelyn admitted.

“So am I,” he told her.

Evelyn gently pulled her right hand from his, and reached up to cup his cheek. “I do want you to stay.”

“Then I will.”

She smiled, then gestured to the bathroom. “Do you need…”

“Actually, yes,” Douglas admitted, with an almost bashful grin.

“There’s a spare toothbrush if you need it. I bought it for myself, but just haven’t opened it yet.”

“Thank you,” he said, and released her hand. “I’ll just be a minute.”

Evelyn nodded, and as he entered the bathroom, she wandered across the room to lock her door, then turned out the main light. She made her way in the near darkness to her bed, and turned on the bedside lamp, then slipped beneath the light blankets to wait for him.

Two minutes later, Douglas emerged from the loo in just his undershirt and boxers. “I left my trousers hanging in the loo, if that’s all right,” he told her, walking towards the bed.

“Of course it is,” she replied, then lifted the blankets in invitation. He smiled, and climbed in beside her. “Will you get the light?”

Douglas nodded, and reached out to turn the lamp off, then settled back against the pillows.

Evelyn shifted, snuggled up against him, and laid her head on Douglas’ chest as he wrapped his arms around her, and held her close.

The moment they were in each others’ arms, they felt their bodies relax; both smiling at how right it felt.

“Why did I wait so long?” she asked softly, listening to the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “All that matters now is that we got here in the end. Together.”

“Yes,” Evelyn nodded against his chest. “Together.”

Douglas kissed the top of her head. “Good night, Evelyn.”

“Good night, love,” she whispered back.


End file.
